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Courses

Basic jointing weekend.

Success in woodwork comes from using sharp tools, good technique and an accurate approach to the work. We deal with sharp tools in other courses. On this course you will learn some basic jointing techniques which will enable you to build a wide range of furniture. Perhaps more importantly you will come to understand just how important precision is in the craft of woodwork. A must if you want to get on the right track from the start.

Setting up a mortice gauge

Course

Basic jointing weekend

Duration

2 days 9am-5pm

Max No Of Students

4

Cost

£273* plus £10 materials

*includes 5% voluntary contribution to support young carpentry students in Uganda which can lift them out of poverty.

Please indicate in the additional information on the booking form if you do NOT wish to contribute. Learn more here

About the course

Should I have previous experience?

Those attending the course should be able to tell when a tool needs sharpening and how to sharpen it. Ideally having attended my tool sharpening and maintenance weekend or similar course or have developed a sound sharpening method.

Sharp tools are the very basis of woodwork, without sharp tools it is not possible to do good work. This is why I would encourage you to master your sharpening skills either on my sharpening course or otherwise before progressing to making.

What’s it like on the basic jointing course?

During the course we make a rectangular frame, each corner will have a different joint and each side will be in a different wood. Not a terribly practical object, but it will give you practice in cutting four different joints and help you to understand the way different woods behave under the tools.

We will start with planing one of the pieces square and to dimension from the rough sawn state. This gives you experience with timber preparation, an important skill if you don’t have the machinery to do this. We cut the four pieces of the frame to length, concentrating on getting a clean square cut. Then we go on to cut the joints, starting with a simple lap joint. Cutting this joint gives valuable practice with paring with a chisel and using a hand router plane. Then it’s a dovetail lap, giving a taster of very simple dovetailing. We then cut a bridle joint followed by a mortice and tenon, perhaps the most common and useful of the woodworking joints, this one will have a through wedged tenon.

The frame may not be a very functional, although it could make an rather quirky mirror or picture frame with it’s over shot corners, but it will give you experience in cutting a variety of joints and working different timbers. The emphasis on my courses is on skills acquisition the course project is just a vehicle for that. For many beginners just getting a feel for the tools and the way wood cuts is the most important element

We'll make a frame something like this on the course.

One corner will be a wedged mortice and tenon

What will I learn on the course?

The course is designed to introduce you to the basic woodworking skills of timber preparation and joint marking and cutting:

Safe use of hand tools, especially chisels

How to prepare rough sawn wood ready to work

How to plane smooth, straight and square

How to detect twist and correct it

Understanding grain direction

Using a marking gauge

Planing to a line

Using a shooting board

Accurate measurement

Accurate marking using a marking knife and square

How to saw square to a line

Accurste paring with a chisel

Using a hand router plane

Marking out mortice and tenon , lap, dovetail lap and bridle joints using a square, gauge and marking knife